


New Year's Promises

by ScullyLovesQueequeg



Series: Tumblr Shorts [7]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Complete, F/M, Fluff, New Years, romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:41:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24192268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScullyLovesQueequeg/pseuds/ScullyLovesQueequeg
Summary: The Lone Gunmen are throwing a small party to commemorate the new year and of course, Mulder and Scully were invited. They indulge in a little too much alcohol and share some drunk confessions and hopes for the new year.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Series: Tumblr Shorts [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1532234
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	New Year's Promises

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Baroness_Blixen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baroness_Blixen/gifts).



> Originally posted on tumblr, I finally decided to post it here.

“Why is it such a sausage fest in here?” Mulder asked, and Scully’s laughter was loud, and clear. Her face carried the tell tale signs of intoxication, namely: red cheeks. Her eyes were shining brightly, and her laughs came easily and freely. It was like she was a different person and, if he was being honest, Mulder liked that.

“In case you didn’t notice, Langley is not popular with the ladies. He tends to scare them off,” Frohike teased. Langley was leaned back in his seat, his feet on one of the countertops that littered their little hideout where the Lone Gunmen did most of their work. At Frohike’s jab however, he sat upright, ready to defend himself.

“I’m plenty popular,” He replied hotly, slicking his hair back. “It’s you who’s scaring all the chicks away. Geez. Anyways, we all know that the only lady you know is Scully… and your mother…”

Mulder watched the ‘drama’ unfold and Scully found herself hanging close to Mulder. She felt at ease with the men there, but remained close to Mulder regardless. It was nice to be able to ring in the new year with him, especially considering that she got to spend Christmas with him too. They were all situated in the Lone Gunmen’s cramped living/work quarters, with Scully and Mulder sitting on a pair of stools, Langley in a chair, & Frohike and Byers standing around the counters that held spare computer parts, and past issues of their magazine.

 _‘1999 will be better. I hope,’_ Scully thought to herself.

 _It’s silly_ , she thought, _to hope that._ Every year that she was alive was a good year, even if nothing else happened. Every year that she could spend with Mulder _would_ be a good year. She had almost lost the ability to work with him. _She almost left him._

She could never bring herself to do that. As much as she had threatened in the hallway—it _always_ went back to that heartfelt _I need you Scully_ confession—she could never leave Mulder. Not as long as he needed her.

And boy, did he ever. Just a month prior, Mulder had been found in the ocean, babbling about nazis and spies… he had declared in his hysteria that he loved her.

And then it never got brought up again. Not the hallway, not the near kiss, or the confession. No talk of bees, and nothing of what happened in the frigid temperatures of Antarctica.

“Well, Agent Scully, I’m glad you came. You saved this party from being lame,” Byers declared, his speech slightly slurred. The culprit? A couple bottles of beer that were gathered around his person.

“Yes, thanks for coming,” Langley echoed, leaning back again and putting his feet up. Frohike let out a burp, which caused everyone to chuckle. When the heat dissipated from her cheeks, Scully looked at Mulder.

“Thanks for inviting me.” Her words were directed at everyone, but they were meant only for Mulder, who glanced down at her. Langley hissed out a sigh from his nose which caused Scully and Mulder to lose eye contact.

“We still have some time before the ball drops,” Frohike said, grabbing one of the empty bottles and turning it on it’s side. “It’s a bit juvenile, but why don’t we take turns confessing something, and then maybe our hopes for the new year?”

“Okay, sounds like it could be fun,” Mulder said, looking down at Scully.

“God, you guys keep making googly eyes at each other,” Byers said, and Scully felt her face go red. “Just kiss already.”

“Excuse me, we aren’t playing that sort of game,” Frohike chimed in before Mulder could get a jab in. “Since you want to be a sourpuss, you go first. Spin.”

Byers sighed and spun the bottle, and waited for it to stop. It stopped halfway between him and Langley. Langley looked over at Byers.

“All yours bud. Confess.”

Byers didn’t say anything for a moment, and the room was silent, save for the beer Mulder cracked open. Even then, no one dared to speak. Finally after a couple more moments, Byers said,

“I miss Suzanne.”

Langley bit back the urge to groan, and Frohike glanced elsewhere. Scully opened her mouth to speak, but Mulder’s hand on her knee made her think better of it.

“Okay, I’ll go next, and we’ll go in a circle.” Langley said after the admission hung in the air. There was a murmur of agreement and, after that died down, Langley spoke,

“When I used to do ham radio as a hobby, I once picked up a conversation. A guy and his girl. I didn’t think anything of it, but then the next night, I heard the guy talking to his wife. So I blackmailed him and after he paid, I sent the tape to the wife anyway.”

“I don’t even want to begin on how illegal that is,” Scully said, and Langley sneered,

“You going to narc on me? You and Mr. Destroy-the-System-From-Within? I didn’t think so. Besides, the guy was scum.”

Frohike cleared his throat, and started,

“I guess it’s my turn. Once, when we were playing Dungeons & Dragons, I was acting as the substitute dungeon master and I lied about the rolls that Brian made because he had screwed over Langley on a deal. His character of about 7 years… killed. I don’t regret that,” Frohike admitted. Langley looked surprised, and touched.

“You know, most of the time, you and Byers are boneheads, but you’re alright,” He said, clearly touched.

“You know I wouldn’t stand by and let someone screw over my friends. That goes for you, too, Scully,” Frohike said, turning to look at her. She felt her cheeks burn again, but Mulder’s hand on the small of her back provided comfort.

“I appreciate it,” She said quietly, staring at the beer bottle she was holding. Wisely, Mulder said,

“Guess it’s my turn. My confession is… I guess on the corny side. So many things went wrong in my life, but the one thing that went right was you, Scully. I… I’m glad that after everything… you decided to stay. Thanks.”

Again, another silence hung in the air and Langley coughed artificially.

“Now, you kiss her,” He teased, but Mulder laughed, and looked away, his face also bright red. Scully rubbed her cheeks, feeling the heat contained within them. Despite feeling loosened by the alcohol, she still felt embarrassed, and reluctant to reciprocate Mulder’s candor.

“It’s my turn,” Scully said, as if Mulder had not said anything, “I… I’m afraid my confession isn’t quite as… _riveting_ , but… I once had my roommate take a test for me when I was in college, because I was too hungover to come to class. She actually did pretty well, but I still regret that I did that.”

If Mulder was disappointed, he did not show it. He busied himself with his beer, and thankfully, Frohike spoke up.

“Well, that’s everyone. Go another round, or should we just wait for the ball drop? It’s in another 5 minutes.”

“I need to sit,” Byers said, heading for the couch and doing just that. The rest followed suit, Mulder and Scully sitting on the couch and Frohike and Langley on the floor.

“I wonder what we are going to do when Dick Clark finally buys it,” Mulder wondered out loud. Scully couldn’t help but laugh.

“Jesus, Mulder….”

Mulder shrugged, but felt his heart skip a beat when he felt Scully pressing into his side and taking his hand. He was faintly aware of anything but that sensation to the point that Scully had to say softly in his ear, “Langley is talking to you.”

Her breath in his ear, her lips so close to his skin, he thought he was going to explode if she continued.

“Yeah? Sorry, I was spaced out,” Mulder said.

“Yeah, yeah. I asked if you had any candidates for the next in line if Dick Clark kicks the bucket,” Langley said, a hint of irritation in his voice.

“None, you?”

“Regis Philbin, maybe?”

“Remind me again,” Frohike said, rubbing his chin, “Is that the Jeopardy guy, the Wheel of Fortune guy, or the news guy?”

“He’s a talk show host,” Scully said, still holding Mulder’s hand. Frohike was ready to comment on it, but Langley cut him off to announce that the ball would be dropping soon. All eyes were fixed on the TV set, and reluctantly, Scully let Mulder’s hand go as they prepared to count down. Mulder could feel the excitement welling up inside, and he thought about the intoxicating effect Scully had just being beside him.

At exactly midnight, the amount of noise that erupted from the room would have scared anyone who didn’t know what was happening. Mulder turned to look at Scully, but found her excitedly gulping down the rest of her beer as the other men cheered. He smiled softly to himself. He’d half been expecting a kiss, but it wasn’t written in the cards. _Not now._

“My lovely Agent Scully, happy new year!” Frohike said, leaning in to kiss Scully. She turned him down by putting her hand to his face and gently pushing him away. This resulted in a laugh from everyone except Byers, who had begun sulking.

“I can take a hint,” Frohike said, retreating to sit on the arm of the couch. Scully smirked, but turned to look at Mulder, who was not paying her any mind. She had also been expecting a kiss, but she didn’t want to force it.

“Happy New Year, everyone, hopefully 1999 is better than ‘98 was,” Mulder said. Everyone murmured in agreement.

“You have any resolutions?” Langley asked, looking up at Mulder. Mulder looked pensive, thinking about how the year had gone.

“I… I don’t really believe in making resolutions, I think it’s silly,” Mulder said, and he felt Scully’s hand on his thigh. He turned to look at her, and she answered,

“I do. Mine is to make more time for the people I care about,” She said, with a small smile.

“And yet you’re here, with us,” Byers murmured. Everyone looked over at him.

“I care very much about you three,” Scully said, her voice sincere, her hand squeezing Mulder’s thigh. “I can’t think of anywhere else I would rather be. I spent Christmas Eve with my family, and Christmas Day with Mulder. And now I’m here, on the last day of the year, with you three. That covers most everyone.”

They were all silent for a moment, before finally Frohike stood up.

“Well, from the Three Stooges, and I’m sure Agent Mulder too, thank you for coming. Really,” He said.

“It was my pleasure, really. Thank you for having me. I’m just glad Mulder isn’t alone,” Scully said, rising when Mulder did. She looked over at him, to gauge his sobriety.

“Are you okay to drive?” Scully asked.

“Yes, but legally, no. Neither are you. I’m paying, c’mon…” Mulder said, ushering her to the door. She smiled, and both of them bid the others farewell.

When they were in the cab, Mulder felt Scully lean into him, and instinctively, he drew an arm around her. The cab driver made eye contact and gave Mulder a knowing smirk. Mulder glanced elsewhere, listening to Scully breathe. He could feel her chest rising and falling beside him, the movement growing slower, and slower until she was breathing deeply, the way people did when they were asleep. The whole ride was in silence.

When they got to her apartment, he carried her up. He opened the door, removed her coat, set her on the couch, removed her shoes, went to the bathroom, and came back out to her standing just outside the door, sleep pervading her features.

“Mulder, you carried me in,” She said, as he stepped aside to let her in the restroom. She did not move.

“Yes, you were sleeping. I didn’t want to wake you. I’m on my way out now,” He said, watching her stand unsteadily on her feet. He walked her back to the couch, and when she was seated, he turned to leave. She caught his hand just as he made to walk for the door.

“Mulder, wait. Stay,” Scully murmured, making room for him on the couch.

“…all right,” Mulder conceded, removing his coat and then his sneakers. She watched him, half asleep still, but smiling. When he was comfortable, she resumed leaning on him as she had been doing in the cab. Mulder felt his heart flutter, and he drew his arm around her, and put his feet up. The sleeping situation wasn’t ideal, but it was better than sleeping alone, or not sleeping at all.


End file.
